When the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act was passed in November 2010 to allow medical marijuana in Arizona, the rules for medication possession were straightforward.
Proposition 203 prohibits smoking marijuana in certain places, but the line blurs inside a campus dorm room.
One 18-year-old ASU student was approached in her dorm at Hassayampa Phase I by ASU Police on Jan. 22, just hours after smoking medicinal marijuana.
She received her Arizona Department of Health Services card to purchase medicinal marijuana about six months ago for her chronic migraines, an ailment that runs in her family.
The community assistants notified police of the smell of marijuana coming from the woman’s room that night, but police were unable to arrest the woman for marijuana possession because she wasn’t breaking any state law — only University policy, ASU Police Cmdr. Jim Hardina, said.
“Marijuana is not allowed on campus so whether or not you got a card, it’s still a policy violation,” Hardina said. “So you receive discipline through the dean.”
When police arrived, she told the officers they were free to search around the dorm room, but they only found her marijuana and pipe inside of a zipper pouch, which she was able to prove was medicinal by providing her card.
“It’s just like having a gun on campus,” Hardina said. “It’s not a crime, but you can’t have a gun on campus.”
Under the federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, any funding, grant or financial assistance will not be given to higher education institutions without a drug-free policy.
Alan Proctor, the ASU Representative for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said he can understand why smoking may cause ventilation problems in residence halls, but the policy seems unconstitutional because a dorm room is someone’s home.
“I think that your own home is … the number one foundation place that you should do whatever you like,” Proctor said. “It’s too bad that the dorms would probably be an exception.”
University Housing said in an email that ASU reviewed the laws, policies and procedures in regards to the possession of marijuana on University property after Proposition 203 was passed.
“ASU will continue to prohibit the possession and or use of marijuana on campus for any purpose,” according to the statement.
The policy was never changed or amended because the University still views medical marijuana as a controlled substance, Arizona Board of Regents spokeswoman Sarah Harper said.
Proctor said he would like to see ASU make a policy change.
“It would be one of the first universities that accept the fact that this is becoming acceptable,” he said.
A compromise, such as specific housing for medicinal marijuana users, would work well, he said.
“Maybe one dorm, friendly for medical marijuana,” Proctor said. “It would be probably a great step for ASU, in my opinion, being the ‘New American University’ to try something new.”
Three community assistants came to the woman’s dorm after the police left and let her know the rules didn’t change and marijuana, medicinal or recreational, is still not permitted in the dorm rooms.
She said they also notified her that a representative from the University would be contacting her soon for disciplinary action, but as of Monday no one has.
“I’m a student, I get good grades,” she said. “I medically smoke marijuana. It’s prescribed to me and it’s not fair that they’re not going to let me.”
Reach the reporter at sraymund@asu.edu
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